Toxins News and Research

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MRSA study suggests strategy shift needed to develop effective therapeutics

USA300-the major epidemic strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causing severe infections in the United States during the past decade-inherits its destructiveness directly from a forefather strain of the bacterium called USA500 rather than randomly acquiring harmful genes from other MRSA strains.

17 Mar 2009

Sensitive new test for protein detection

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) recently reported the detection of toxins with unprecedented speed, sensitivity, and simplicity.

16 Mar 2009

Researchers probe mechanisms of infection

A newly discovered receptor in a strain of Escherichia coli might help explain why people often get sicker when they're stressed.

10 Mar 2009

Patented inventions double at University at Buffalo

An antibody with the potential to stop breast cancer in its path. A nanoparticle that can address a side effect of the treatment that hemophiliacs cannot live without. A "quantum dot" with the potential to treat cancer or harvest the power of the sun. An air purifier that kills the world's nastiest toxins.

5 Mar 2009

Link between, bacteria, cancer explored with funding from American Cancer Society

The role of bacteria in the development of colorectal cancer is coming under scrutiny at the University of Rochester Medical Center, thanks to an $840,000 research award from the American Cancer Society.

3 Mar 2009

Instant immunity through chemically programmable vaccination and covalent self-assembly

The experiments, thus far performed only in mice, appear to overcome a major drawback of vaccinations - the lag time of days, or even weeks, that it normally takes for immunity to build against a pathogen.

2 Mar 2009

Scientists debug Clostridium difficile

An international team of scientists, led by Monash University researchers, has uncovered the workings of a superbug that kills elderly hospital patients worldwide - a discovery that has the potential to save lives and health care systems billions of dollars each year.

2 Mar 2009

Doctors endorse vegan and vegetarian diets for healthy pregnancies

Well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets are healthful choices for pregnant women and their children, and vitamin B12 needs can be easily met with fortified foods or any common multivitamin, say doctors and dietitians with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).

2 Mar 2009

Could our mother's diet at time we are conceived set the course for our future health?

This intriguing question is at the heart of a new study based on an "experiment of nature" being conducted by Wellcome Trust-funded researchers.

25 Feb 2009

Researchers block immune cell rush behind deadly sepsis

Researchers have found a way to block the ability of white blood cells to sprint toward the sites of infection when such speed worsens the damage done by sepsis, the often fatal, whole-body bacterial infection, according to a study published today in the journal Blood.

24 Feb 2009

Tiny flakes of silicon spotlight tumors, deliver drugs

Small is promising when it comes to illuminating tiny tumors or precisely delivering drugs, but many worry about the safety of nano-scale materials.

22 Feb 2009

High-flux hemodialysis prolongs survival in chronic kidney disease

High-flux hemodialysis (which removes large toxins) reduces the risk of premature death in many patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study appearing in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

22 Feb 2009

Lynx2 gene linked to nervous behavior in mice

To measure anxiety in a mouse and suggest it's similar to anxiety in a person may seem like a stretch, but the metrics sound uncannily familiar.

20 Feb 2009

Nano-sized laboratory detects pollutants, disease and biological weapons

For centuries, animals have been our first line of defense against toxins.

18 Feb 2009

Handheld device provides on-the-spot DNA analysis to test tolerance to prescription drugs

A handheld device to predict whether patients will respond adversely to medication is one step closer to the market, thanks to a new partnership.

18 Feb 2009

Air pollution dangerously high around some U.S. schools

Air pollution is dangerously high around schools near some U.S. industrial plants, according to a recent study involving researchers from the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University.

16 Feb 2009

Cytokines lead to neurological and cognitive abnormalities and changes in heart rhythm in patients with cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, taking 25,000 lives per year.

10 Feb 2009

Zinc supplements during pregnancy may counteract damage from early alcohol exposure

Animal research has shown that binge drinking - even just once - during early pregnancy can cause numerous problems for the fetus, including early postnatal death.

2 Feb 2009

Quantum dot hazards

Quantum dots have the potential to bring many good things into the world: efficient solar power, targeted gene and drug delivery, solid-state lighting and advances in biomedical imaging among them.

2 Feb 2009

Link found between Parkinson's disease genes and manganese poisoning

A connection between genetic and environmental causes of Parkinson's disease has been discovered by a research team led by Aaron D. Gitler, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

2 Feb 2009